“The Freemasons are useful to the regime": An analysis of the representations of Freemasonry on cinema and its utility on reinforcing or criticizing the establishment

Abstract

This article addresses the relations between the language of cinema and some representations that this media may show on Freemasonry. The three chosen movies deserve attention for their representativeness. Freemasonry has become a recurrent theme in historical studies and combined with this phenomenon the Fraternity has been going through a greater public exposure. This public image is formed, mainly, by works of fiction, and through its leading vehicle, the cinema. On analysing in three movies a commonality in their approach is sought for, between images presented –about and by– Freemasonry in this social product of cinema.